“The single hardest thing to do in business is to make a deal, whether you’re buying or selling.” Former SouthComm, Inc. COO Blair Johnson knew the magnitude of the task before him when, in November 2017, the company’s equity backer Solidus ousted CEO Chris Ferrell and indicated its desire to exit the publishing business within eight months. “At that time, Solidus had decided they wanted to liquidate their position and get out of SouthComm,” Johnson tells Folio:. “[Managing partner] Vic Gatto and the board made a decision that we needed to do it, and do it quickly, and that Chris was probably not the right person to do it. He likes to buy and build, and it’s a different strategy when you have to liquidate.” And so Solidus handed the company reins to Johnson—who took over as CEO—and CFO Bob Mahoney, and the pair immediately began the process of selling off a company that comprised alt-weeklies serving five different cities, a robust b2b media business, and hundreds of employees, among other assets. In a b2b-media space characterized by frequent mergers and acquisitions, the circumstances may have felt a bit like déjà vu all over again for Johnson, who had arrived at SouthComm from Cygnus Business Media in 2015 after four years helping transition that company from bankruptcy to breakup. “We essentially had eight different entities that we had to find a new home for,” Johnson continues. “Clearly, the biggest of these was the b2b assets from legacy Cygnus.” The relative... Continue reading at 'Folio Magazine'
[ Folio Magazine | 2018-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A collection of stories from Stephen King and the autobiography of footballer Didier Drogba will be among the new releases from Hodder & Stoughton this year. The Hachette UK division last night (12th March) held its annual showcase event, unveiling its highlights for the year ahead, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Skybound Entertainment has had success with The Walking Dead across all mediums. Robert Kirkman’s comic book company has expanded into television with the AMC series, which is now the most popular show in the world. They’ve also enjoyed the same level of critical and commercial success through... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2015-03-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McCracken won the $20,000 prize for 'Thunderstruck,' her first short story collection in more than 20 years. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon is failing in its legal duties when making staff redundant, according to union GMB. Meanwhile the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint against an Amazon promotion for its Prime membership service The GMB union has accused the internet giant of failing to follow... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Bibliography,' which will be released in the US in April, includes details about alternate titles considered and also tells readers which 'Harry Potter' book Rowling got 'sick' of reading after many edits. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-03-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Five women have made the shortlist for the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. British newcomer Rebecca F John, whose first book will be published by Parthian this year, has been nominated for her story "The Glove Maker's Numbers", about a woman grieving over her brother, alongside... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-03-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has acquired the account of fisherman Salvador Alvarenga who survived 14 months at sea, written by journalist Jonathan Franklin. UK and Commonwealth rights in the book, titled 438 Days: A Fisherman's True Survival at Sea, were acquired from Annabel Merullo at PFD. The book tells... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The clamor for native advertising budgets has led to many of the top news publishers rebranding and up-skilling. Here's how their solutions stack up. The post Inside 4 UK news publishers’ content studios appeared first on Digiday. Continue reading at Digiday
[ Digiday | 2015-02-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nigerian romance publisher Ankara Press has produced a free digital Valentine’s Day Story Anthology featuring several of Africa's top writers. The post Digital Love Stories for Valentine’s Day from Africa appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Todd Allen has been keeping tabs on digital comics since the mid-aughts, and he's just released a ground-breaking new edition of 'The Economics of Digital Comics' that reveals a wealth of financial details rarely disclosed. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A newspaper story on Marion Brown’s plight fuels a grassroots campaignA speech last week by the BBC’s head of news, James Harding, was badly received by newspaper publishers, as I reported, because he thinks the corporation needs to fill a reporting vacuum created by a dwindling industry.This... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Thad McIlroy offers some statistics and key data on smartphones and tablets to help book publishers figure out how to address mobile technology. The post The Mobile Story for Publishers: Told in Key Stats appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Granta Books editor Anne Meadows has acquired a “darkly funny, whip-smart” novel and a collection of short stories from Catherine Lacey, whose debut novel Nobody is Ever Missing will be published - also by Granta - this week. Meadows acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, including Australia New... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The supercomputer analyzed flavor combinations and profiles to come up with recipes like an Austrian Chocolate Burrito. (It tastes better than you might think.) Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As it has become harder to censor individual journalists and independent teams, the intimidation, violence and imprisonment has increasedIn a rather dark hotel meeting room, halfway up a Swiss mountain, editors and publishers are having a heated debate about the freedom of the press. This is the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan is to publish a collection of short stories by television and radio presenter Sir Terry Wogan. Editorial director Trisha Jackson acquired UK & Commonwealth Rights from Luigi Bonomi at LBA. Jackson said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Terry’s for many years and these incredibly... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A group of investors led by Axel Springer SE, Europe's biggest newspaper publisher, has paid $25 million for a stake in Business Insider Inc. as the German media company seeks to expand its digital... To view the full story, click the title link. Continue reading at Crains New York
[ Crains New York | 2015-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Biblical scholar Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg trains her trademark lens on the Book of Numbers, using psychoanalytic concepts to understand the story of the people of Israel wandering in the wilderness. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mohamedou Ould Slahi’s personal diary, which was published Tuesday by Little, Brown, is being billed as the first book written by a Guantánamo detainee. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2015-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The identities of the finalists for the Costa Short Story Award 2014 have been announced, with writers from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland making the shortlist. The shortlist was chosen by a panel of judges including writers Patrick Gale and Victoria Hislop; Richard Beard,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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